


Teddy

by FlyRobinFly



Series: Teddy [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alpha Liam Dunbar, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Café, Canon Compliant, Coffee Shop, First Kiss, First Time, Fresh Start, Future Fic, Good Theo Raeken, M/M, Nicknames, Pack Dynamics, Theo has glasses, also the manager, five years later..., instincts, theo has a beard, theo is a barista, what a cute nerd
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-08
Updated: 2019-04-08
Packaged: 2020-01-06 16:29:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18392105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlyRobinFly/pseuds/FlyRobinFly
Summary: “How can I help you today?”The whole time he was in line, the man had been glued to his phone, probably reading something important or something that was inducing stress if the lines on his forehead were anything to go by. “Uh. I’ll have a chai tea.”Teddy rolled his eyes and scoffed. He’d waited just so he could talk to the guy and he didn’t even bother looking up. “Never took you for a tea-guy, Liam.”That seemed to get his attention. Liam looked up and straight at him, shocked. “Theo,” he said, a little speechless, a little breathless.





	Teddy

**Author's Note:**

> I've been working on this one for a while and I'm glad to finally post it. I hope that you enjoy it.

“Hey, how can I help you today?” Alex asked with a smile on her face.

The man was easily middle-aged and little on the overweight side but he had a kind face. “I’ll have a-oh no,” he said when his wandering eyes landed on a lady across the cafe who back was facing them. “That bitch.” He leaned over the counter to speak a little closer to Alex and proceeded to tell her the story about how that lady supposedly cut him off and how he was going to yell at her for it after he got his drink.

“I’m sorry, sir. I’m afraid we won’t tolerate that kind of behavior in this establishment. I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” she said, voice completely calm, face as serious as it always is.

The man stood up straight and looked at her skeptically. “Are you serious? No. I’m a paying customer-”

“You haven’t even ordered yet.”

“I’ll have a-”

“You’re holding up the line. Do I need to get my manager?”

“Caramel, half-caff-”

“Teddy!”

“Fine! I’ll go but your yelp review is about to take a nosedive!”

Teddy stepped out of the back area wearing an apron, as the bells on the door jingled and the man scurried off to leave the rest of them in peace. “What’s up?” Teddy asked as Alex prepared an espresso drink.

“Nothing,” she said. “Just another crazy. But all it took to get him to leave was the word ‘manager’.”

“Good to see you’ve got things handled, Al,” he sent her a warm, apologetic smile. “I’ll have to add threatening middle-aged men to your job description.” As Teddy teased her he glanced at the small line of customers waiting and saw someone familiar enter the cafe. “Why don’t you have lunch. I’ll take it from here.”

Alex furrowed her brow and turned to look at him skeptically. “Ruth!” she called out as she placed a drink on the end of the counter and proceeded to lean against it with a hand on her hip.

“Hello, Ma’am. What will it be today?” Teddy asked smoothly, his voice so easy and inviting. The lady said her order, he took down her name and as he totaled it up on the register machine, he felt Alex staring at him. “What?”

Alex shrugged. “I don’t know. You just usually don’t work the front counter.”

“This is where I started,” Teddy said after reading the total to the woman and handing the cup to Alex to prepare since she wasn’t taking him up on his offer. Next. “Eddy! Good morning. The usual?” Teddy was a natural. It was almost like he’d been doing that job for years… because he had.

Alex prepped the woman’s drink and found herself looking at the line, noticing how Teddy kept glancing at a man. Casually, Alex turned her back to the customers and leaned towards Teddy. “You don’t think that guy is trouble, do you?”

“Huh?” Teddy turned to her as he blindly typed in the total for the drink.

“The guy you keep staring at,” she elaborated. “Tasha!” she shouted slamming another drink on the counter. Teddy sighed and shoved a cup in his hands, clearly defensive… which only gave her more clues. She smirked as she prepared Eddy’s drink.

Teddy took the next order. “What’s that look for?”

“Nothing. He’s cute though.” When Teddy sent a glare her way she held back laughter and said, “Relax. He’s all yours.”

“He’s an old friend.”

  
“I get it. You wanna catch up, maybe take him on a date-”

“We were never like that-”

“You’re never like that with anybody,” she said rolling her eyes. She looked across the counter at Eddy who was still patiently waiting for his drink To-Go. “Come on, Eddy. Tell him he needs to go on a date.”

“You need to get some, brother,” he said, Hispanic accent coming through loud and clear.

Teddy rolled his eyes and handed Alex another cup to fill. Alex only smiled at Teddy fangirlishly. “Here he comes.”

“Do you mind?” Teddy chided towards her.

Alex winked at Teddy and slammed a cup on the counter. “Eddy!”

“Ay, chica. I’m right here.”

Teddy sighed as Eddy and Alex shared some playful banter and he looked at him, the last customer of the lunch rush hour, the one he’d been waiting for. “How can I help you today?”

The whole time he was in line, the man had been glued to his phone, probably reading something important or something that was inducing stress if the lines on his forehead were anything to go by. “Uh. I’ll have a chai tea.”

Teddy rolled his eyes and scoffed. He’d waited just so he could talk to the guy and he didn’t even bother looking up. “Never took you for a tea-guy, Liam.”

That seemed to get his attention. Liam looked up and straight at him, shocked. “Theo,” he said, a little speechless, a little breathless.

Theo smirked. “Around here, people call me ‘Teddy’.”

“Wow…” Liam stared at him absolutely stunned. “You look… different.”

Theo bobbed his head and shrugged. “Well, I am five years older than the last time you saw me. I grew a beard… I wear glasses now.”

Liam stared at him almost confused, cheeks flushed red.

“You look good,” Theo said breaking the silence. Also, maybe that was what Liam was trying to say in the first place. Theo glanced at the tattoo on Liam’s left upper arm. “The tattoo is a nice touch. Just like Scott’s.”

Liam stuttered and glanced at his arm briefly. “Yeah. Uh. Thanks. You too. Uh-I mean, that you look good too.” Liam awkwardly cleared his throat.

Theo smiled and held back a laugh at how incredibly, adorably awkward Liam was being. That hadn’t changed “What brings you to town?”

Liam sucked in a breath before releasing it. He looked around and then back to Theo, nearly about to answer him. But instead, he asked what he was dying to hear. “Theo, where have you been?”

Theo smiled, gently and passed Liam’s cup to Alex. “Sounds like something we should talk about over dinner.”

~~~

“So this whole time, you’ve literally only been an hour away?” Liam asked in somewhat disbelief, a little guilt in his voice too.

“Yeah. I kinda ran out of gas on my way out of town so I stopped here and the cafe was the only place hiring. Never left.”

Liam face-palmed. “You never answered your phone. Why?”

“I told you guys I was leaving,” Theo said. “I needed some time to just… figure out who I am. I needed to breathe. I needed to get away from Beacon Hills at least for a little while.”

Liam scoffed at that and frowned. “I know the feeling.” Liam shook his head. “So Teddy, huh?”

Theo shrugged. “I kinda wanted a fresh start.”

Liam nodded. “You deserve that.”

Theo did see the sincerity there but he also could sense something else there, a sadness, a tinge of jealousy. “Thanks,” he said offering a small smile. Theo looked Liam over carefully. Something was off. It hit him. “You don’t seem angry.”

“Well, I didn’t exactly have an anchor for the past five years so I had to learn to control it on my own.”

Theo did feel a ping of guilt. He didn’t know. It’s not like that was his fault, right? He was never Liam’s anchor. He was talking about Hayden. … but maybe he wished Liam was talking about him. “I-uh…” Theo swallowed and admitted, “Sometimes it doesn’t feel right. I feel like I just ran away from my problems and… “ Theo sighed painfully, looking away from Liam. “I think I’m weak.”

“You’re not weak. You did what felt right-”

“But it didn’t feel right,” Theo said. “It felt better, yes. But-”

“Do you think you could’ve been able to live there and actually manage to have a decent life, a job, friends? With the pack still butthurt about what you did? Don’t blame yourself for leaving what was only hurting you-”

“You weren’t hurting me, Liam,” Theo interrupted. “I left you and I think that was a huge mistake.”

Liam started shaking his head, looking up briefly as if cursing the heavens. “I got a job here.”

“...what?” Theo said… shocked and disbelieving.

“A job,” Liam said. “I’m moving here this week.”

Theo blinked, processing much like a very slow robot. “Where?”

Liam sighed. “Like a block away from where you work.”

“Oh,” he said slowly. “I guess we’ll be seeing more of each other then.”

Liam smiled. “I hope so. Although… I don’t know if I can get used to calling you ‘Teddy’.”

Theo smiled and squinted. “I’ll let you call me ‘Theo’.” Theo looked at Liam, contemplating, giving his lip a little nibble. “But only you.” Theo winked at him flirtatiously. “I’ve got a special little spot in my heart for Scott’s little beta.”

Liam’s shoulders tensed and he cleared his throat. “Actually, um… tha-that’s part of why I left. Um…” Liam closed his eyes, looking down at his lap. “I mean, I’ll always love Scott. We’ll always be pack but…”

Theo was listening intently, watching Liam’s every move. “But what?”

Theo nearly jumped when he saw those crimson colored eyes look into his. They were so vibrant, so powerful, so beautiful. It was purely instinctual when his own eyes shifted in response to Liam’s. “Alpha’s tend to butt heads.”

“Damn,” Theo said breathily, nearly dazed by the awe he was in.

“It’s not really that we don’t get along… I just want to be on my own,” Liam explained.

“I get it,” Theo said. “You want to be Alpha. It’s hard to do that when there’s another Alpha, a more experienced, more respected one taking all the responsibility.”

“It’s not even that I want it. It’s more of an instinctual thing that I can’t help,” Liam explained.

“Were you drawn to this place?”

“I could feel a certain energy,” Liam said nodding. “Similar to Beacon Hills but… “

“But colder,” Theo finished for him. “Weaker.”

“Uh. Yeah actually.” Liam sat back in his seat and furrowed his brows at Theo. “Wha-what do you know about it?”

Theo held back a smile. “Vampires.”

Liam stared at Theo blankly, in disbelief. “...Vampires?”

“Are real,” Theo said.

“No…”

“Yeah,” Theo said. “There are two clans in town. They don’t really get along.”

“Are they dangerous?”

“They can be,” Theo replied. “Modern day vampires are a bit more evolved than the ones we hear about in urban legends. Although, it’s true that they are absolutely disgusted by werewolves.”

Liam smiled and even let out a quiet chuckle.

“They tried to chase me out of town,” Theo said, voice getting tense at the memory. “You think werewolves like to bite? Wait until you meet a vampire.” Theo pulled up the sleeve of his shirt up and revealed a bite mark.

Liam’s eyes bugged out and his smile went away. “It left a scar?”

“Vampires and werewolves do not, under any circumstance, mix,” Theo informed Liam shaking his head. Suddenly, he squinted at Liam thoughtfully. “I wonder how they’d react to an Alpha.” Theo stared for a moment, probably playing the scenario through in his head before he laughed out loud at something.

“Vampires aside,” Liam said transitioning into a change of topic. “I’m looking forward to starting a life here.”

“It’s a nice place,” Theo said. “If you need it, I’d be happy to show you around.”

They talked for hours until it was dark outside of the cafe. They were mostly caught up, as much as they could be within a few hours. It was nice for Theo have someone to talk to that knew about his past. He didn’t have to feel like there was a big part of him to hide. And being called ‘Theo’ felt good for once. Usually, that name just felt so tainted.

Finally, Liam looked at his phone and checked the time. “It’s past midnight. I should probably head home.”

“Why don’t you stay at my place for the night? It’ll spare you the late drive,” Theo offered without hesitation. Theo noticed the way Liam tensed in surprise at the offer. “Unless you have somewhere to be in the morning.”

“Uh, actually that might be nice,” Liam said, an unsure smile gracing his lips. “Maybe you could show me around tomorrow.”

Theo smiled and chuckled. “You’ve probably already seen everything there is to see but I’d love to show you around. Now let’s go upstairs and catch some shut eye.” Theo turned off some of the lights in the cafe. “It sounds like we’re gonna have plenty of opportunities in the future to finish catching up and we should probably call it a night soon.”

~~~

“...so after I got promoted I moved up here. Very convenient,” Theo rambled on about his apartment above the cafe. “You’ll have to forgive me. I don’t usually have company so the spare room isn’t the cleanest it could be.”

“It’s fine,” Liam said. “I figure we won’t really be needing it.”

Theo turned to look at Liam, a bit confused at the man’s statement. But looking at him was all it took for Theo to understand what was going on. There was a look in Liam’s eyes, one of longing. It was almost predatory but mostly knowing.

Sure, Theo had thought about it but he thought it would’ve been something he had to work at, spending the night with Liam. As Liam encroached towards him, he felt a little breathless, his heart started to beat faster, his head a little dizzy. “... Liam.”

“Shsh.” Liam closed the distance between then, tilting his head to kiss Theo on the Lips. He brought one hand up to his face and the other he used to pull Theo in closer by his waist. Theo easily melted into the kiss and returned it, throwing an arm over the Alpha’s shoulders and pulling him forward by his shirt.

When Liam finally pulled away, waiting hesitantly for Theo to respond, to give him something, Theo just gave a dazed chuckle and agreed. “We won’t be needing it,” he said before he thrust back into a kiss, a more heated, passionate one.

He wasn’t sure if it was because he was with another werewolf, or because Liam was an Alpha, or if it was just because of Liam, but he gave in to his instincts. After being alone for so long, without a pack, he was deprived of that connection and Liam being an Alpha without his own pack must’ve been sensing it, drawn to it. Theo couldn’t help but give in. He was completely at the mercy of the Alpha and he was perfectly fine with that because he’d given up his desire for that Alpha spark long ago.

Now Theo was a Beta. Technically, he was an Omega but the second Liam stepped into that cafe, he became a Beta all over again. He had the willpower to resist an Alpha but he didn’t want to… and certainly not if Liam was that Alpha.

He wanted this.

No words had to be said. They both knew it and felt the connection happen instantaneously, the bond forming between them. They weren’t just werewolves anymore. Liam wasn’t just an Alpha without his own pack anymore. He’d found someone who’d been longing for that connection just as much as he had been.

The more evolved human side of each of them wanted to talk about it first, to make sure it was the right thing to do but the instinct was too strong, bringing them to Theo’s room, to his bed.

Instinct took over both of them that night.

~~~

Theo was behind the counter, getting the espresso machine warmed up and greeting the other employees when Alex walked in. “Good morning,” he said as she hung up her belongs in the back and put on an apron.

Alex smiled at him. “Hey, Teddy. Is the assman in charge today?”

“Yep,” said Theo, a smile on his face despite the news that he wasn’t going to be there to keep Alex company. “Today is my day off and I need to run some errands so Assistant Manager is acting as Manager today.”

“Huh,” Alex said as he walked to the door and unlocked it. She flipped the sign to say ‘Open” and turned to face Theo, a skeptical look. “Don’t you hate running errands?”

Theo shrugged. “Sometimes.”

Alex squinted at Theo, noticing the lack of usual moodiness in the morning and the presence of a smile, an awfully cute one to beat. “So what has you in a good mood this morning?”

Theo shrugged again. “Nothing.”

“Uh huh,” Alex hummed making her way to the counter to unlock the register. “What has you being so nonchalant this morning?”

“I said ‘nothing’,” Theo reinforced.

“This isn’t about that guy you saw yesterday, is it?” She asked leaning against the counter. “What was his name? Leo?”

“Liam.”

“Liam. Right. Liam was very cute. Do you have his number? I think I’d like to ask him out.” This is why Theo considered Alex to be one of his only friends, they were on the same page and she knew how to bate him.

Theo rolled his eyes. “You can have his number but you’re barking up the wrong tree.”

“Oh. So he is into guys.”

“Yes, now shut up.”

“Why? Is he going to hear me? It’s not like he spent the-wait. Teddy!” she said smacking his arm. “Did you…”

Theo sighed and raised his eyebrows. “What?”

Alex smirked, “You sly dog. Tell me you didn’t sleep with him.”

Theo held his breath for a second. Sure, maybe he wasn’t as good at lying as he used to be. “I didn’t.” But that was a good thing, right?

Alex pinched her lips together, trying not to smile or laugh in his face. “OK,” she said. “I totally believe you.”

Theo scoffed as he made his way around the counter and headed towards the hallways that would take him upstairs to his apartment. “No, you don’t.”

Right before he made it through the doorway, Liam stepped out, hair still a little messy and wearing one of Theo’s shirts. Actually, now that Theo thought about it, it had been one of Liam’s that he stole from him when he was living out of his truck. Liam lent it to him and he never gave it back.

Liam smiled at Theo, clearly pleased to see him again. “Morning, Theo.” He leaned in and met Theo with a kiss on the lips.

“You’re right,” Alex said to Theo. “I don’t believe you, Theo.” She put emphasis on his name because she’d never heard anyone call him that.

“I thought people called you Teddy around here?”

  
“They do,” Theo stated. “You ready to go?”

“Yeah,” Liam said. “Of course. Hope you don’t mind but I borrowed one of your shirts.”

Theo thought about telling Liam it was originally his but he decided against it. “No worries. It looks good on you. Keep it if you like.”

~~~

“So do you need help moving your stuff?”

“I imagine the pack is going to want to help,” Liam said hesitantly. “But it would be nice if you came.”

“I’m not sure if the pack would take much comfort in know you’re moving to a town with a former enemy in it.”

“Who cares?” Liam said. “I’m an alpha. I can make decisions for myself.”

Theo smiled. “It’s great to see you taking control but don’t forget that the pack cares about you and that’s really valuable.”

“It is,” Liam said looking down. “It’s just time that I start building a pack of my own and I feel like I need a little space first.”

“That’s understandable,” Theo said with a nod. “But as long as I’m here to with you I’m going to remind you that you have people back home that want to support you. Right now they might be having a hard time accepting that you’re an alpha now but give it time. Once you have a few loyal betas, they’ll start to realize it and you won’t feel trapped anymore.”

Liam smiled at Theo, eyes just a tad glossy. “Thank you, Theo. You know? I am so glad that fate lead me to you. I have a really good feeling about this.”

Theo did too. Being the only werewolfish person in town made him feel a little out of place and lonely. But somehow things looked to be working out. Liam was here now and he was looking for a new start of his own.

“Do I have to call you Teddy though?”

Theo let out a huff of laughter.

“It just feels weird,” Liam explained. “It would be like if I started making you call me Will.”

“Will? That’s not even-wait…” Theo had an epiphany. “Your full name is William, isn’t it?” Theo breathed in a tiny gasp when Liam blushed in embarrassment.

“I’m not calling you ‘Teddy’.”

“You don’t have to.”

“...really?”

“Yeah. To you I’ll always be Theo,” he explained. “I have absolutely no problem with being called Theo. I just thought that changing what people called me would change who I was. By the time I learned that lesson, it was too late to go back to being called Theo so I just stuck with Teddy.”

Liam smiled, tapping his cup on the counter top.

Theo lifted his hand up and pointed it at Liam, “Don’t make the same mistake I did. Learn from my mistakes, got it?”

Liam immediately got a guilty look on his face and bit his lip.

“William! Your orders ready!”

Liam cringed and pursed his lips. “You really should’ve told me that sooner.”

Theo scoffed and played with a straw wrapper. “As long as people don’t call us Bill and Ted.” Theo held back a smirk when he looked up at Liam, only for the two of them to start laughing.

Fate had brought Liam and Theo together when they were ready. They might have had to wait years for it to happen but their own personal journeys during their time apart brought them to the exact place they were supposed to be. Together, in a little mountain town infested with vampires.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know why but I wrote most of this a while back ago and then I hit a wall. But somehow I finished it up tonight with just a few sentences. Funny how just stepping away from a project can change your perspective, huh?
> 
> Luv you guys. Thanks for reading.


End file.
